All I Want For Christmas, I Have...

The holidays have been difficult for me for many years; they just aren't what they used to be when I was growing up. Being on the adult side of the holidays, they seem to be all about planning and obligations rather than magic and wonder... but this year is different.

I am still having mild anxiety about things in general, but the Holidays aren't really getting to me as much. And I think I know why...

I have never been a crazy holiday decorator, but this year I have done absolutely nothing! If you walked in to my house today, it could be the middle of any other month of the year right now!

We sold our old Christmas tree last summer and I haven't bothered getting a new one yet. Actually I'm  hoping to find hoping to find something on Boxing Day possibly. I did buy our traditional commemorative Christmas ornament though - Baby's First Christmas of course. So, no tree this year.

Then I searched high and low for a stocking that I liked for baby girl, finally found one that complimented our set but wanted to add some embellishments to all three to make them match. Unfortunately, what I ordered to decorate them with won't arrive until the new year. I have since found other stockings I liked more and bought 3 of them but decided putting up stockings alone was dumb. So, no stockings.

Outdoor lights are something we have never been able to put up as we have no electrical outlet nearby. But, I do put a wreath up on the door every year... but haven't. Honestly no excuse for this one other than laziness!

Lastly, gifts. We usually alternate between gifts for each other one year and something special we want for home the next. This year, we haven't done either. I bought for family of course, but nothing for DH (and as far as I know he hasn't gotten me anything either).

We aren't being Scrooges... we have just been busy with the best Christmas gift we could have ever asked for! A couple of people have pointed out that this is baby's first Christmas and I should decorate and be more in the holiday spirit, but I would argue that despite a lack of decorations I am probably more into Christmas this year than I have been in a decade! After all, as we all learned from our favorite Grinch...

“And the Grinch, with his Grinch-feet ice cold in the snow,
stood puzzling and puzzling, how could it be so?
It came without ribbons. It came without tags.
It came without packages, boxes or bags.
And he puzzled and puzzled 'till his puzzler was sore.
Then the Grinch thought of something he hadn't before.
What if Christmas, he thought, doesn't come from a store.
What if Christmas, perhaps, means a little bit more.”

Dr. Seuss, How the Grinch Stole Christmas!